1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an identity module selection method and apparatus. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method and apparatus for automatically selecting one of multiple identity modules attached to a mobile terminal.
2. Description of the Related Art
Mobile terminals are presently in widespread use. Recent mobile terminals are equipped with an identity module for identifying the subscriber. A mobile terminal connects to a network using the information recorded in the identity module. The identity module may include, among others, a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM), a Universal SIM (USIM), and a Universal Integrated Circuit Card (UICC). While the following description is directed toward SIM cards for convenience, the description is equally applicable to other types of identity modules.
More recently, mobile terminals supporting two or more SIMs are being developed and commercialized. Mobile terminals capable of holding two SIMs are referred to as dual SIM mobile terminals. The user can insert two SIMs into the mobile terminal, such as one for business use and the other for personal use. It is also possible to configure the mobile terminal to switch between the two SIMs for the office and home.
Even though the same network is used, billing rates may change depending on which SIM is activated. Particularly when using roaming services, the difference between the billing amounts of the cases using two different SIMs is likely to increase. Accordingly, the dual SIM mobile terminal is configured such that the user can manually select a SIM that is most advantageous in terms of cost for the current network.
However, the multi SIM mobile terminal typically requires the user to change the SIM through a cumbersome menu manipulation or by a SIM switching key input, resulting in user inconvenience. Assuming the case of using SIM A and SIM B, if the user selects the SIM B by mistake despite the cost reduction advantage of SIM A in the current network, the user has to pay for the unnecessary cost imposed.